NFL PLayoffs Business

By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek

January 7, 2013

The NFL playoffs this weekend enter the Divisional round, and if there’s one lesson we can take away from the regular season, it’s that money doesn’t guarantee happiness. The league’s most valuable team, the Dallas Cowboys at $2.1 billion, failed to qualify for the playoffs, as did the both New York teams, Chicago and Philadelphia. The least valuable team to make the postseason is the Atlanta Falcons, ranking 28th at $837 million. However, Atlanta is deep in negotiations to build a new stadium, so they’ll be much more valuable in the next few years.

Overall, the NFL’s business continues to prosper. The average franchise is worth $1.1 billion, up 7% from last year. The league has long-term labor peace with the new collective bargaining agreement signed last summer, and lucrative TV deals that extend into the next decade. At least that’s some silver lining for the teams that missed this postseason.